So did the passenger side rocker cover today and all my lpg is there. It took about 4 hours for the one side and it wasn’t without its issues...

1) firstly I noticed the two hoses going to the cyclone had split (one on the rocker cover one going down) will this cause an oil leak if so how bad as it seems like it for a while... any idea of part numbers and costs?

2) ok this is bad - I mad every effort to move anything loose that could fall into the engine. Anyway it was about a million point manoeuvre to get it out and in. When I pull it out I fought a wire on the top of the engine and a small brittle cable tie pinged off and may have gone into the engine (it may not have but couldn’t find) I looked at what I could see but couldn’t see anything. How bad is this I have started and drive it for about 10 miles seems ok... is this bad news? I was thinking of driving it slightly more to let it get a bit more smashed up then dump the oil... thoughts on my problems here?

3) after driving it 10 miles and checking it all i notices the corner of the gasket is squished.. not leaking at all there though any thoughts

Click image to enlarge

I doubt if it will do much, i suppose it could block an oil way but more likely get smashed by a cam lobe.
If you are lucky it will find its way to the front of the engine and drop into the sump with your chain guides when they fail

Not sure what you mean when you say your drive drain sounded sloppy - do you mean you could here the transmission ?
I have all sorts of noise from mine, the M62 makes all sorts of weird noises, i would concentrate on your pcv valve and pipework as they can potentially turn catastrophic although will probably just be messy.

Lol I was going to say there was no slack on the chains - guessing that’s good news for the chains and I still have no startup rattle anyway when it would have fell in is by the chains so probably you are right.

What do you think to the picture of the gasket? Do I need to reseat it if so could I just loosen al the bolts do you think?

Now the pcv - would you start by changing the hoses before the pcv so you could test? Can you access the jubilee clip that goes from cyclone to pcv without removing the pcv and without too much hassle? Are there any other pipes you’d check aside from these two? Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

Also here is a video of the noise in park like a knock knock sound  Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

If the gasket isn't leaking then don't worry, you could just loosen the bolts and tuck it back in and then tighten again. You did have all the metal collars in place to stop the bolts from tightening down too much ?

Noise is common, i have had the same as have many others after doing guides.
if you want to keep yourself busy for a year then google the noise as there are dozens of instances.
Could be lifter needing bleeding but before you go thrashing it to bleed it i would try and pinpoint where it is coming from if you can.

PCV, just do it all in one go, valve and pipes, as you cant get to the small pipe off without removing the pcv valve anyway and your cyclone will be full of crap as well.
The small pipe underneath will probably snap off the valve and also needs changing

Ok Great - so that noise is it definately engine not the rest of the drivetrain as it goes in drive? Wondered if it could be propsgaft coupling or something Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

very hard to tell from the video, if you open your bonnet and listen to where the noise is coming from which is harder than it sounds, not sure if that is a pun.
It can only be something that is rotating and your prop shaft isn't rotating so if the noise is coming from the back of the engine or bell housing it could be torque converter i guess as i read somewhere that somebody had a noise from that.
So the noise stops when you put it into drive but don't move off or is it because you are in the car you cant hear it?

have you recorded it while somebody puts it in drive without getting run down of course although that will solve all your problems ?

I had the windows down and could distinctly hear the different - will try to get a video but if you reckon a lot have that sound maybe it’s just an age thing and I’m adding more worry to the list I shouldn’t need to as to be fair it drives ok [/u] Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

I have found dozens of tapping sounds and everyone seems to solve it a different way or not at all.
mine has been tapping and seemed a bit better with Mobil 1 0w-40 but i think i have a blocked cat, my vanos system is playing up somehow, i have a dodgy coil pack or plug or something else entirely.
You dont want to be fighting on too many fronts when it comes to the fatty

I will say this - you have probably checked but check the torque of your plugs I had four out of 8 backed out it fixed one of my noises and seems common on the BMW forums Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

ok thanks, I did start to do that yesterday but got as far as No 1 and realised that my multimeter that i was using to check the coils resistance couldn't even check it's own resistance.

do you know what the resistance should be out of curiosity - on the mw forum no one could give me an accurate answer... I have a box of 8 coils I've accumulated over my bmw years and I don't know what are good/bad! Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

Not sure if it’s because I got a better picture or if it’s got worse not sure why I’m
Torturing myself when I can’t sort for a few day but can you see what’s happens here trying to work out how to put it back